Bad case of calcinosis cutis

[admin]

Hi Devin
What a handsome lad! I remember Robert saying Maggie didn’t smell good either, so that seems to be part of it, presumably the infection. Let us know how he gets on
Sheena, Worzel & Ollie xxxx

[Devin]

Thank you, I think he is mighty handsome but I am biased :)

He has been on the Cipro for about 5 days now and his infection seems to be drying up and he smells a little less! We had to special order the DMSO and I just got it tonight so we will start him on that now. I update when we know how it is working.

Devin and Jackson

[Vally]

Fingers and paws crossed and what the heck, eyes crossed too.

Vally and Bingo

[Clara]

Hi Devin,
Sorry I am late to the party. I have way too much experience with calcinosis cutis. My pit bull Wallace had a fierce case of it. None of our vets knew what it was until we went to a dermatologist. Once he was off steroids (not for IMHA) the smaller bumps went away, but the large, angry patch stayed and never seemed to bother him. He had a secondary staph infection also and we were able to treat that topically.
Now my pit bull Hector (IMHA) has a severe case of CC also. It’s weird because it seemed to come on really fast as soon as I started lowering his prednisone dose. He is now only on 5mg of prednisone daily. I was suspecting he had an infection on top of it because the skin was peeling off and some of his other hair was falling off.
Dr. Dodds told me to try using a green tea poultice to soothe the skin. So far his skin seems “normal” besides all the nasty lumps everywhere.
She also said that the thyroid meds will help. Something about increasing the skin metabolism. His bald patches filled in after a month or so on thyroid meds.
The only thing that will really “cure” the calcinosis cutis is taking them off prednisone altogether, and even then the skin may never completely go back to normal, but at least the growths will stop coming.
I’m sure your vet gave you a tutorial, but be careful with the DMSO! There is some concern about sending the calcium back into the bloodstream too quickly. And the DMSO is highly toxic– it can take varnish off of wood floors. So make sure to always wear gloves.
That’s so great that your dog’s PCV is at 38%! So at least you have the option to lower the prednisone.

[Cheri]

Hello-
I just found this site after months of searching. My Golden retriever Chloe was diagnosed with non-regenerative IMHA in April 2010 at age 3. She had multiple transfusions (8) and several relapses. Within a few months she also had severe calcinosis cutis. I took her to UPenn Vet and was told the two options were surgery or to try DMSO with which they were experimenting. The vets had good results with some of the dogs but I didn’t with Chloe. Her calcium plates remain huge over joints and in her anal area. Most areas are solid tumor-like formations that are 4″x2-3″ and about 1/2″ thick. The DMSO probably works best for much smaller bumpy areas which is how it was tested. The DMSO is easily purchased at Tractor Supply and feed stores as it is used often with horses.
Chloe just turned 8, still on Atopica/prednisone/soloxine/SAM-e, etc. and the love of our lives. Every day is a gift and no one can believe she has survived so long. I wish you the best with your baby.

[Vally]

Hi Cheri, thank you for your post. You’re so very right, every day is a gift. My boy Bingo is on the same as your Chloe, Neoral (cyclo), pred, thyroxine and SAM-e, diagnosed in Nov 2011 (at 7 years) and yes I love him to bits too.

8 transfusions! What a battle you fought.

Happy belated Birthday Chloe!!!

Regards, Vally & Bingo

[admin]

Hi Cheri & Chloe

I’m glad you’ve found us now, even though it’s taken a while. You are so welcome here & I’m really happy to read Chloe is doing fine, despite a lot of transfusions & the relapses – you have both fought so hard. The calcinosis cutis sounds like a big problem & must be very uncomfortable. Clara has given some great advice & ideas to try. I posted some human research early on in this topic (see page 1) for Devin & you might find something useful to discuss with your vets. I’m afraid I don’t have any personal experience with the large patches – Worzel only had small lumps. And I couldn’t agree more – every day we have with our AIHA babies is worth a million dollars.

Devin – how are things going? Hope handsome Jackson is improving – let us know when you get a minute

Sheena, Worzel & Ollie xxxx

[Devin]

Jackson is doing so much better, thanks! The Cipro has dried up his infection for the most part and the DMSO seems to be working great already. Our vet did go over the risks with the DMSO Clara, but thank you so much for the warning. We have started on very small areas and only do it once a day. Once we know he is tolerating it ok we will move on to another spot. He doesn’t seem to be having any reactions so far, and I wear gloves everytime! It doesn’t smell very pleasant either, we traded the smell of infection for the smell of the DMSO.

He is due for more bloodwork next week and hopefully we can reduce his Pred after that. We are also considering starting him on thyroid meds too if his level is low still, he was low normal last check.

He has been feeling very good lately though, we get lots of wiggles from his little nub tail and he is much more active than he has been lately.